Sheena Is a Punk Rocker

"Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" is a song by the punk rock group Ramones. Written by Joey Ramone, it is one of the Ramones' most popular songs, evidence of Joey's early 1960s surf rock and Bubblegum pop influences. It first appeared on USA copies of the second issue of the band's 1977 album Leave Home (replacing the track "Carbona Not Glue") and was subsequently on their third LP Rocket to Russia. It was also released as a single, which reached #81 in the US, and #22 in the UK singles charts.

The song is notable for being one of the first to explicitly refer to "punk rock" in its title and lyrics in terms of a subculture. It is ranked #457 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The "Sheena" referred to in the title is in fact the comic book character Sheena, Queen of the Jungle; the idea being that punk rock music would appeal to a savage jungle girl (stock character) brought to civilization. Said Joey Ramone, "To me 'Sheena' was the first surf/punk rock/teenage rebellion song. I combined Sheena, Queen of the Jungle with the primalness of Punk rock. Then Sheena is brought into the modern day,"

Punk rock

Punk rock (or simply punk) is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands rejected perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. Punk bands typically use short or fast-paced songs, with hard-edged melodies and singing styles, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produced recordings and distributed them through informal channels.

The term "punk" was first used in relation to rock music by some American critics in the early 1970s, to describe garage bands and their devotees. By late 1976, bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Damned in London, and Television, Patti Smith, and the Ramones in New York City were recognized as the vanguard of a new musical movement. The following year saw punk rock spreading around the world, and it became a major cultural phenomenon in the United Kingdom. For the most part, punk took root in local scenes that tended to reject association with the mainstream. Though originally more diverse and accepting, it evolved to create an "angry white male" punk stereotype with a "color blind" attitude. An associated punk subculture emerged, expressing youthful rebellion and characterized by distinctive styles of clothing and adornment (ranging from deliberately offensive T-shirts, leather jackets, spike bands and other studded or spiked jewelry to bondage and S&M clothes) and a variety of anti-authoritarian ideologies.

Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

Well the kids are all hopped up and ready to goThey're ready to go nowThey got their surfboardsAnd they're going to the Discotheque Du Go GoBut Sheena just couldn't stayShe had to break awayWell New York City really has it allOh ya, oh ya.Sheena is a punk rockerSheena is a punk rockerSheena is a punk rocker now.She's a punk punk, a punk rockerPunk punk, a punk rockerPunk punk, a punk rocker.